Stake Out: Part 2
by NextGeneration18
Summary: Mick had known from the start that having Rae as a partner would be different than it had been with Snart; he just didn't know HOW different it would be. HeatAtom Mick/fem!Ray


**Alright, so I had started this story a week before the episode with Ronald Reagan and the 80s came out, hoping to be finished before then, so I wouldn't have to face how inconstant the story was, but guess what? I didn't get it done and the episode was aired and I was kind of stuck since I had a different story than what the episode focused on. I could've done this as an alternate way the episode went down, but felt that didn't work enough, so I went with this direction instead. Do I regret it? Maybe a little but the feedback is what will really help me decide because I had to make some last minute tune ups to make this story work a little. Am I cringing inside? Yes. But I hope this works out** _ **enough.**_

 **I've got to say though, that my favorite scene in the episode was the stake out scene in the van. My dad and I were laughing** _ **way**_ **too hard because it was just so dang funny! Especially how Mick responded when asked for an update right after he turned off the raidio! XD**

 **But I digress.**

 **I've kind of wondered what would happen if Ray Palmer were a girl and how it would all play out so I wrote this fic. I hope I portray fem!Ray Palmer correctly enough.**

 **Roll film!**

* * *

"Alright, I'm shooting now." Rae said pointing the gun in the direction of the target.

"Wait." Mick stood behind her and gently lifted her elbow, "There."

"Wise guy."

It had been almost a month since Mick had given Rae Snart's cold gun and the majority of that time had been practicing.

The first time Rae had used it she had been a little too excited and wasn't ready for the kickback and accidentally froze one of the crates in the training room.

Mick had tried to be stern and give his usual low growl in her direction, but she found that she was laughing so hard that he had to give a small smile back. She was just too adorable and, though he had been initially annoyed because of things like this, Rae Palmer was staring to grow on him, including all her little antics.

Currently, Rae zeroed in on her target at the far end of the wall and shot, freezing the heart of the cardboard Vandal Savage.

"Nice job, ponytail," Mick smiled down at her.

"Thanks," Rae smiled, "And it's a braid that I'm wearing today."

"Whatever."

It was true though. Instead of the usual high ponytail that had earned Rae her nickname, she wore a loose braid and as a result, black strands of her hair were falling out framing her angular face. Combined with the rest of her features, Mick had to admit, she made a pretty picture.

He blinked wondering where that thought had come from.

"Now," he cleared his throat, "Do it exactly how you did the first time, only this time aim for the one behind Savage."

Rae tilted her head.

"You mean that clown with the green hair and purple suit?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

Rae raised the gun and took aim, but lost concentration at the last second before pulling the trigger resulting in the loss of balance and a partially frozen wall.

Nothing had been different, except that the song on the radio had switched from Apocolyptica's _Not Strong Enough,_ to Cutting Crew's _(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight._

As Chronos, Mick had been trained to scrutinize details, and this one was not lost on him.

Rae cringed as she lowered the gun and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Sorry, Mick; I just lost focus."

"Obviously." If he remembered correctly, she reacted the last time they heard the song in 1987. Before he could ask why, Gideon's voice echoed throughout the room.

" _Miss Lance wants everyone in the meeting room as soon as possible."_

"We'll finish later," Mick said as Rae nodded her usual bright smile amiss. She put the gun away and followed Mick.

* * *

"We believe we've located where Rex Tyler's killer is going to be hitting next," Sara said 5 minutes later when everyone had gathered. She brought up a projection of the White House.

"Again?" Jax said crossing his arms, "Why the White House?"

Sara shrugged.

"Do you think he's pretending to be apart of secret service?" Amya asked.

"I'm not sure," Sara said, "Nate and I talked to them a little while ago and we didn't see him on the list of secret service men."

"Wait," Jax looked confused, "you talked to the secret service? Why?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," Sara promised, "Right now, Ronald Regan in going to be sworn into office today and will be held in the White House and he seems to be the next target of this mysterious time traveler for whatever reason.

"Most of us are going to be doing some sort of undercover work. Nate and I will be representatives from New York, Amaya will be an ambassador from Skandia, Jax and Stein, you guys will be wait staff."

"We're going back to the Reagan era?" Jax asked the same time his partner spoke up.

"Wait staff?" Stein protested looking appalled and crushed, "You mean to tell me that I will be denied the pleasure of meeting _the_ President Ronald Regan; the one whom I've admired for so many years and don't remember ever meeting? I esteemed him even before he became governor; I saw and loved every movie he was in."

Jax snickered.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Sara looked as if she were trying to hold back a laugh.

"Wait staff, Stein," she looked amused, "maybe you'll serve Reagan a martini."

"But…but…"

"What about us?" Mick asked before Stein starting to whine again about not being able to meet another famous historical figure.

"You two," Sara said, "have stake out duty."

"Again?" Rae asked.

"This man here?" Sara ignored her as Gideon brought up another projection, "His name is Clayton Booth. A black op dishonorably discharged for treason and was locked up in federal prison as a result. Well, guess who was mysteriously just 'whisked away' from his cell?"

"Ahh…" Rae said catching on.

"You're thinking this guy going to show up while Reagan's being sworn in," Mick mused, "Why? What's his connection with Reagan?"

"Though Reagan's government terms were served in California, his home state is Illinois, which is also Booth's home state as well, where he was tried and put in prison. All this happened while Reagan was campaigning and he _personally_ saw to it that Booth got locked away for life and made public news. Though not intractably part of the case, he got praise for seeing swift justice done."

"So he wants payback," Mick said, "So you want us to what, make sure he doesn't get into the White House?"

"Exactly," Sara handed him a device, "This is connected with the White House security system. It'll alert you of any movement within 10 yards of the lawns."

"Doesn't the White House already have secret service to respond to this?" Rae asked, "I mean, they come if someone so much as accidentally slips and falls onto the lawn."

Sara nodded.

"Normally, but tonight, the usual security is turned off. Any amount of security reaction will scare him away. And with his high levels of training, he'll just disappear and will never be found again. We _want_ this guy to show up and stick around long enough to catch him."

"Alright," Rae crossed her arms, "Judging by what you said earlier, I assume the secret service knows about these plans."

"Nate and I made all the arrangements," she smiled at the historian who nodded in response, "According to the secret service, all of us are F.B.I.; they're working with us."

"Sweet." Rae smiled and rubbed her hands together looking up at Mick, "You know what every stake out needs? _Snacks._ "

"Oh, boy," Mick felt a sense of dread, "Please don't tell that there's going to be…"

* * *

"Carrots?" Rae offered him hours later in the darkened shadows of their rental van.

"No. Thank you." Mick growled.

"Okay. Celery?"

"If it's green, leafy or orange, I'm not interested." Mick tapped his index finger on the steering wheel in irritation. In the midst of getting ready for the stake out, Mick had forgotten about one of the main things that was usually on his mind: food. Unfortunately, Rae had not and brought a veggie tray with her as well as hummus and rice cakes, none of which Mick was desperate enough to eat yet.

"Okay…" Rae responded looking uncharacteristically sly, "Then I guess you don't want this bag of Doritos I brought."

Mick tilted his head toward her to see if she was playing him. Instead, she was holding a family sized bag of Doritos in one hand while munching on a carrot with the other. He smirked and took the bag.

"Thanks." he muttered opening the bag.

"No problem," Rae responded, "Hey, let's see what we've got on this little device;" she reached into her jacket pocket, "it's getting too quiet in here." She leaned down and pressed the dial.

Mick had been very adamant about not wanting to be subjected to the music of the times, so they had swiped one of Rip's most valuable possessions: a music box that held a vast majority of music throughout time. Rae figured it would be fun and said it would be neat to hear songs that wouldn't be released for another few hundred years if they came across any. Mick had decided to give it shot.

Rae started to sway back and forth in her seat as the song _Kiss Me Softly_ by Journey echoed throughout the van.

It really wasn't Mick's kind of song, but he found that he didn't want to skip it because Rae liked it. Plus, she looked freaking adorable swaying while nibbling on her carrot.

Whey was he thinking that way about her?

He tapped his thumb in irritated confusion and looked ahead as Rae began to hum softly.

She had a soothing voice.

Gritting his teeth, he tapped his foot. He knew that he shouldn't look at her again but he did. A small smile on her face told him that this was one of her favorite songs. He swallowed hard as his heart skipped a beat.

What was wrong with him?

Thankfully, the song ended about half a minute later, but had a bad replacement.

" _I…I just died in your arms tonight."_

Rae froze and bit off half an apple slice.

"I _hate_ the 80's," Mick muttered reaching over and turning the music box off. He thought he caught a small smile spread across her face as she turned her head to stare out of the passenger seat window.

He almost didn't ask, but he was curious as to why something so simple as a song could have Rae Palmer so upset.

"Why do you hate the song so much?"

Rae turned around.

"Who said I hated it?"

"Your actions; it's the reason why you lost concentration back on the ship and why you froze like a deer in the headlights just now."

She laughed softly.

"You're very perceptive."

"Well…being Chronos taught me a few things." The device Sara had given them remained silent. What was taking Booth so long?

Rae was silent so long that at first she thought she wouldn't answer him. And then she did.

"It was my fiancé's favorite song." Her voice was quiet.

"Oh." Mick didn't know how to respond to that. He was never good with touchy-feely subjects. "80's buff?"

Rae laughed again.

"Huge."

"He was the reason you became a hero, right?"

"Yeah…" Rae leaned her head against the seat, then gave a dry laugh. "You want to know what's funny though? I became a hero because of a man who didn't love me enough."

Mick felt his ears prick and he turned his head in her direction.

"What makes you say that?"

It was a moment before Rae answered.

"A few days after he was killed, I was going through some of his things in his apartment when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find a drop dead gorgeous blonde." She fidgeted in her seat. "She…said that she was Andrew's girlfriend."

Mick had seen that coming a mile away. Still…

"Maybe she was lying. She could've been an old ex."

Rae shook her head.

"That's what I thought too…until I found photos in his pillowcase. Photos that no fiancée should have to discover, dating back to the night we got engaged to the night before he was killed."

Mick blew out an angry breath. He was surprised to find just how angry he was at Rae's dead fiancé.

She scoffed.

"I mean, look at what his favorite song was; should have given me a clue, right?"

Mick didn't know how to respond. Again, not good with the touchy-feely stuff.

Rae sighed again.

"It took me a long time to forgive him, but even longer to stop loving him."

Mick blinked but knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Rae was a very forgiving person, proving even more how this guy hadn't deserved her.

"At any rate, I felt that I had fault in it," she looked out of the passenger seat window again.

Mick raised an eyebrow.

"How? He was the one who cheated."

Rae shrugged.

"Maybe if I hadn't been so engrossed in my work…"

"Take it from a guy," Mick said already not liking where this was going, "he was just being a slut. He wanted both of you, maybe you a little more because he wanted to marry you. But he still wanted the other woman on the side. Why is anybody's guest. But I wouldn't put the blame on yourself. Knowing you, I'm sure you gave him more attention than he deserved.

"I've never met this chic, but you were probably the better choice anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…uh…" a million things flew into his mind none of which Mick felt comfortable saying out loud. "You're just the marrying type." He settled on, "I mean you eventually got engaged again, the last time to Carter, right?"

Rae turned her head to the window again and Mick immediately sensed that that was the wrong thing to say.

"Sorry."

"It's okay; I'm over him now. Just wondering how I ended up second place again."

"Well…that's the good thing about partnership." Mick picked up a Dorito, "There's no first or second place because one is always the top priority of the other. And vice versa."

Rae turned her toward him with an almost perplexed look on her face, and Mick suddenly realized how that might have come out. He ate the Dorito and hoped for the best.

"What about you?" She suddenly asked, "Any close calls or serious girlfriends?"

Mick swallowed before he could choke with laughter.

"You're funny." He responded.

"No, I'm serious," she was smiling now, "everyone had somebody sometime."

Mick chuckled.

" I haven't had a girlfriend in a long time. Not since I was 21 and she was the worst mistake I've ever made in my entire life."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He knew she was baiting him to tell her the whole story but he felt like giving in to her.

"It wasn't long after Leonard and I became partners. We were going to break into one of the Nation's largest banks-don't ask which one-and we needed a third person. Lisa wasn't available that night so Mick said he knew someone else that could help because he had pulled a heist with her 6 months before, so we called her in.

"Selina Kyle was her name and she was a top notch cat burglar. She was quick, smart and completely out of my league, but, of course, I fell for her anyway. She had really dark hair and eyes, and I was always a sucker for those kinds of women.

"Mick warned me she was trouble from the start and I believed him to some level, but she showed interest in me so I didn't care.

" 'Mick,' Len said, 'she only likes you because she can control her, and since you've given her that control, you won't see her betrayal until it hits you square in the face'.

"I didn't believe she would betray me; I was a different man back then. Too thick-skulled to see beyond the moment. Though I will say even in the moment I should have seen it coming.

"She stuck around and then came a time 3 months later when she wanted to pull a heist with me-just me.

"Snart had just given me a look but didn't say anything except 'I wish you the best'. Even back then he knew I had to learn the hard way."

"She stabbed you in the back that night."

"Yep. And took my 50% that was promised to me. Never saw her again, though, I heard she's now stationary in Gotham. Probably schmoozing some rich guy. She could do it."

"That was the closest you ever came to falling in love?"

"Well, like I said I was a different man back then. I didn't exactly attract the ladies. Snart did, but I didn't."

"Snart had swag, I'll give him that." Rae agreed. "But I've always been wary of his kind."

"He _was_ a criminal."

"Putting that aside actually. I never knew where I stood with him. I know some girls like that kind of unpredictability, but I never did. I've always been drawn to more…blunt guys."

"Carter _was_ that way."

"So was Oliver Queen."

"You dated Oliver Queen?" He shouldn't have been surprised, but still…

"For a time. But he was still hung up on some girl he didn't go out with until after we broke up. Like I said, I always seem to come in second place."

"Sounds like you need someone to vet the guys you're interested in."

"Yeah, or ask them straight out if there's any girls I should know about, around or otherwise."

A few months ago, Mick would have said he wasn't surprised that a girl like her always ended up as a backup plan. And he would have said it with callus. Now, it didn't seem right that someone so kind and forgiving was always a rebound girl. Maybe he was just biased because now she was his partner.

"If you want, any guys you like you can bring to me to interrogate," he told her with a smirk. He stomach clenched at the idea but he didn't know why.

Rae laughed.

"You'd torture them."

"Only if they deserved it."

She smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

" _Hey, how's the stake out going?"_ Sara's voice came over the com.

Mick cleared his throat and pressed the button.

"No one so far; maybe he won't show up."

"Hey," Rae said looking ahead, "I think I see someone."

Mick squinted.

"Where?"

"Up in one of those trees."

Mick shifted his gaze upward to find that there was a figure too large to be a bird or cat crouching on one of the large branches.

It was so vague, Mick figured neither he nor Rae would have picked it up if the figure wasn't moving.

"That looks like a guy to me," Rae said.

Mick nodded.

"Definitely human. Why didn't the device go off?"

"Probably just outside of the its range."

Mick tilted his head.

"True."

"So what's the plan?"

Mick thought for a moment.

"Well, I _could_ use my torch gun to distract him and you could freeze his hands together."

"You risk setting the tree on fire."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Rae gave him a look and half snort.

"Alright; we won't do that. You have a better idea, though? The rest of our friends are guarding the present/past president _and_ looking for Darhk and the speedster."

Rae thoughtfully drummed her fingers on her knee.

She suddenly brightened.

"I know."

"What?"

* * *

"Just trust me." Rae whispered a few minutes later as the both crept across the lawn behind the bushes closer and closer to the tree.

"How can I trust you when you haven't even told me your plan?"

"Just trust me."

If they hadn't been so close to the tree, Mick would've growled in frustration and found some way to get the plan out of her.

In front of him Rae stopped and crouched down and picked up a rock.

Suddenly, he knew what her plan was.

Before he could stop her she threw the rock up toward the figure who was, yes, loading some kind of gun.

Mick tensed as the rock, seemingly in slow motion, made its way up the tree…and into the victim's shoulder.

The man cried out in pain and he-and his gun- fell off the branch just feet away from Mick and Rae.

"Man, I thought it would nail him in the head." Rae said.

Mick was torn between laughing and blowing up at her. He did neither and chose to smolder in silence as Booth struggled to stand up.

Mick and Rae wasted no time in leaping out and catching him by surprise again.

Rae grabbed his gun and Mick took hold of Booth and locked his arms behind him.

It was then that he realized that they were the same height.

Rae quickly froze the sniper rifle over to render it useless as Booth put up a good fight trying to escape him.

Mick tried to hold him but Booth somehow slipped his ankle behind Mick's and yanked it forward causing Mick to stumble resulting in him loosening his grip.

Booth turned around and gave him a cheap shot by kneeing him and pushing him over. Mick fell back in pain and Booth lunged at his partner.

He didn't see what happened in the two seconds he fell to the ground but when he got back up he saw that Booth had pinned Rae to the ground and her cold gun was lying a few feet away.

"You know it's been a long time since I've seen a woman" Booth said as Rae struggled to get away, "It's been even longer since I've been with one."

Instant rage took over Mick and he got up and charged at Booth just as Rae bit his wrist.

Booth pulled his arm away and cried out in pain just in time for Mick to yank him off of Rae and throw him farther across the lawn.

Rae immediately jumped up and ran for her gun. Once she grabbed it, she turned around and froze both of Booth's legs together. He cried out in surprise.

"Who _are_ you guys?" He asked from the ground.

"Well, it looks like my plan worked after all," Rae looked up and frowned when she saw the expression on Mick's face. "Too soon?"

"Never," Mick growled, " _Ever_ act on a plan before running it by me _ever_ again; you got that, ponytail?"

"Alright," Rae said a little ticked, "Sheesh." The hurt in her voice didn't go undetected.

"Good job, all the same."

She gave him a small smile in return.

"Uh, guys," Booth pleaded, "getting hypothermia here?"

* * *

"So all of this," Jax said an hour later, "was for nothing?"

"Turns out, it was all a decoy," Sara folded her arms in disappointment, "The speedster took a trip back to this time just to distract us from figuring out from what he's really doing."

"Which is…" Mick asked hoping that long interrogation segment he had with Booth wasn't for nothing.

"I'm not sure yet," Sara leaned on Rip's desk, "But I do know where's he's heading to next." Gideon brought up a projection.

"1921?" Rae looked confused, "What could he possibly need in 1921?"

"And that," Sara said, "Is what we're going to find out. All we know is that Darhk is running four branches of mobs and causing terror in the Bronx.

"I have a plan, but I'll explain it in the morning. Everyone get some sleep. As usual, we have a big day tomorrow."

* * *

"Hey," Rae told Mick as they walked down the hall, "Sorry I didn't let you in on the plan."

"Don't worry about it," Mick took his jacket off as he reached the doorway to his room, "Just don't do it again."

"Alright, partner," She playfully punched him in the arm, "See you in the morning."

"See ya," she started to walk away, "And Rae?"

She turned around.

"Run any guy you might be interested in from 1921 through me," He smirked.

Rae rolled her eyes with a smile and continued to walk down the hall.

He didn't regret making Rae his new partner, but had known from the start it would be different than it was for when he and Snart were partners. He just didn't know _how_ different it would be.

Being around Rae both excited and confused him. He was drawn to her more than anyone else he had met in his entire lifetime and he didn't know why, and he was experiencing things he hadn't experienced just by being in her presence.

He wouldn't change a thing, he just wished Snart was here to give a second opinion. Then again, if Snart were here he wouldn't have made Rae his partner.

Maybe Sara had some sort of an idea of what was wrong with him.

* * *

 **So…I felt that the ending was a little rushed, but it was getting way too long. Do you think I captured how Ray would be if he was a woman and/or the last minute tune ups were a little obvious? Please let me know! I accept constructive criticism, but please no character bashing and/or foul language.**


End file.
